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137th out of 197 books
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178 voters
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Mother Tongue
"It is a great beauty of a book, and I am so proud of you for standing with and for the disappeared. A sister, a lover, a witness."
--Alice Walker
Mary is nineteen and living alone in Albuquerque. Adrift in the wake of her mother's death, she longs for something meaningful to take her over. Then José Luis enters her life. A refugee from El Salvador and its bloody civil war, ...more
--Alice Walker
Mary is nineteen and living alone in Albuquerque. Adrift in the wake of her mother's death, she longs for something meaningful to take her over. Then José Luis enters her life. A refugee from El Salvador and its bloody civil war, ...more
Paperback, 208 pages
Published
May 5th 2010
by One World/Ballantine
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Mostly this book is about the El Salvadorian civil war, for the prolonged duration and extreme violence of which the U.S., of course, was primarily responsible. There's some nice prose here; by "some" I mean a little bit; and Martinez does bring genuine heart to such a heartbreaking subject, there's no doubt about that, but she also frames it in one of the sloppiest narratives that I've read in a long time. It's the story of a romantic idealist, Mary/Maria, who falls head over heels ...more
Velvetink
rated it
score! 50c op shop find today.
Lyrical & poetic, it's like silk and barb wire caressing your heart. Brings to life the heartache of refugees from El Salvador and the war there in the 80's. Based partly on the authors experiences helping the underground railroad of refugees out of El Salvador, it's an easy and quick read. Contains poetry from various Latin Americans and is written via the voices of several characters and three generations and at it's heart is love and justice. Most of ...more
Lyrical & poetic, it's like silk and barb wire caressing your heart. Brings to life the heartache of refugees from El Salvador and the war there in the 80's. Based partly on the authors experiences helping the underground railroad of refugees out of El Salvador, it's an easy and quick read. Contains poetry from various Latin Americans and is written via the voices of several characters and three generations and at it's heart is love and justice. Most of ...more
suz
rated it
Recommends it for:
fictional story of of characters strongly influenced by war-ravaged Central American country
Reviewer: John Phillips "johnphillips61" (Plano, TX USA)
You can tell the author is a poet. This story was beautifully written, insightful and certainly rang true. When I finished reading it I felt I had gained a new perspective about how it must be for people who have their homeland torn apart by war. They love their homes, so the answer isn't just fleeing to freedom and safety. For some, there just is no answer. This book turned on new lights for me and moved as well as fr...more
You can tell the author is a poet. This story was beautifully written, insightful and certainly rang true. When I finished reading it I felt I had gained a new perspective about how it must be for people who have their homeland torn apart by war. They love their homes, so the answer isn't just fleeing to freedom and safety. For some, there just is no answer. This book turned on new lights for me and moved as well as fr...more
Knowing a little background about the 1980's political situation in El Salvador will enrich your appreciation of this book. In this story, an American woman gives shelter to and falls in love with a refugee. A good companion book set in El Salvador would be "One Day of Life" by Manlio Argueta.
sweet sweet fast read ... she writes with her heart in her hand.
her stuff is very familiar, the fiction story is about a southwest chicana enamorada de un salvadoreno /perdida en el amor/ se encuentra after having a son and is on her own.
This book did spark interest in her poetry collection ..
her stuff is very familiar, the fiction story is about a southwest chicana enamorada de un salvadoreno /perdida en el amor/ se encuentra after having a son and is on her own.
This book did spark interest in her poetry collection ..
Demetria Martinez is going to be my workshop instructor at the Wm. Joiner Center, so I was happy to be able to read a couple of her books in anticipation. This novel became more compelling to me the longer I read, as the young Chicana protagonist matures in spite of herself in the process of loving & losing a Salvadoran refugee being sheltered by the Sanctuary movement in the early 1980s. The story gains surprising depth & resonance--as I finished I felt exalted.
Martinez is a wonderf...more
Martinez is a wonderf...more
An excellent novella that poetically follows the romance, so to speak, of a young woman and the Salvadoran refugee she is hiding from the authorities. Well written, I really enjoyed it. Good for anyone interested in the turmoil of modern Centreal America, the Sanctuary Movement, and liberal movements of the time in the United States.
Good story and good intro to the civil war in el Salvador and the sanctuary movement.
Ah.. New Mexico, refugees from El Salvador, and the US Government all mixed in with a little Spanish flavor.
This book really helped me imagine life in the Southwest of the U.S. and how unofficial Central American refugees might feel when living in the U.S. undocumented. It was pretty romantic too!
Super beautifully written and I like that it's kinda of like a political love story...excellent sensory detail of culture as well.
Jenyne
rated it
Recommends it for:
Sherry, Janice, and anyone interested in history
Recommended to Jenyne by:
Stephanie
Shelves:
read-it-in-peace-corps
This is an incredible story about a refugee from El Salvador. It is in English and is beautifully written and desperately tragic.
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Great commentary on the Salvadorian diaspora.
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